In the coming months, your Gmail experience could be getting a lot chattier. And it has everything to do with added competition from Slack.

On Wednesday, Google revealed that it’s in the midst of a bold redesign of the platform that integrates each of its primary communication tools in the Gmail interface—email, chat, rooms (a form of group chat), and Meet (its video chat offering).

The company says that the goal is better integration of the tools—along with less switching among tabs.

“One thing we’ve heard again and again from our users is how switching between apps interrupts their flow—and their focus. That’s why in this new integrated experience, we’ve been thoughtful about how to help you work more fluidly,” the company’s Javier Soltero wrote in a blog post. “A few examples: You can quickly join a video call from a chat, forward a chat message to your inbox, create a task from a chat message—everything connects together in a way that makes it easy for you to manage the flow of your work and get more done.”

The company also revealed plans to further bring chat and video functionality into its office suite, G Suite. As The Next Web notes, this includes more in-depth integration with its cloud platform, Google Docs.

Podcast Motivation

https://twitter.com/Virtual__Inc/status/1283503634777604107

Feeling a little nervous about the idea of recording a podcast? Perhaps you just need a little strategic push. Virtual, Inc.’s Sinead Carthy says that while podcasts can be tough to plan and organize, they can provide new growth opportunities.

“Podcasts take time, effort, and resources. However, they have a lot of value,” Carthy writes in a blog post. “So, why not create a sponsorship package around your next podcast to generate some nondues revenue? Podcast sponsorships are worth every penny and can be successful.”

Other Links of Note

Recently, the tech site VentureBeat took a major event virtual—but didn’t cut its sponsorship prices and kept all its speakers. How’d they do it? The SIIA blog explains.

Feel like you’re procrastinating more than usual? There’s a reason for that, according to Fast Company.

Should you buy a new MacBook now, while it maintains Intel support, or wait for the forthcoming ARM version? A few considerations from Lifehacker.

(Google)